Hundreds of Taiwanese academics urge public to vote for nuclear power shut-down

Taiwan’s academics urge public to vote for nuclear power shut-down, Nature, 9 Nov 18
Open letter encourages voters to support the phase out of nuclear power plants in an upcoming referendum. Hundreds of researchers in Taiwan have signed an open letter urging the public to vote to continue the phase out of nuclear power in an upcoming referendum.

Last year, Taiwanese legislators added a clause to the island’s electricity act to shut down all nuclear power plants by 2025……

In October, proponents of nuclear power gathered enough signatures — more than 1.5% of the electorate in Taiwan — to force a referendum that will ask the public to agree to removing the phase-out clause from the act. ……Fifty academics, including environmental sociologist Chiu Hua-Mei at National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung, released the letter on 3 November, asking the public to vote to keep the clause. More than 400 others have now signed the letter.

Risky business

Chiu says that earthquakes and tsunamis, events that can damage nuclear power stations with devastating effects, are major threats to Taiwan, and there is no feasible long-term solution yet for dealing with the radioactive waste. It is currently stored at the power stations or on Orchid Island off the east coast. “It’s too risky for Taiwan to use nuclear power,” she says.

The academics who signed the letter felt compelled to advise the public about the risks of continuing to use nuclear power in Taiwan, Chiu says. “We think that scholars should say something for us, for Taiwan.”

Even if the phase-out clause ends up being removed from the act, it is not clear what president Tsai will do in response.

Fifty academics, including environmental sociologist Chiu Hua-Mei at National Sun Yat-sen University in Kaohsiung, released the letter on 3 November, asking the public to vote to keep the clause. More than 400 others have now signed the letter.

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Changing climate change“2040” paints an optimistic picture of the future of the environment

The film focuses on technological and agricultural solutions that are already being implemented to help combat climate change, The Economist Feb 19th 2019

by C.G. | BERLIN ……….In “2040”, a documentary which premiered at the Berlinale, Mr Gameau seeks to wrest hope from the bleak reports of climate change. He was inspired by Project Drawdown, the first comprehensive plan to reverse global warming, and the film is intended as a “virtual letter to his four-year-old daughter to show her an alternative future”. “Many films,” Mr Gameau thinks, are too dystopian, and “paint a future that is really hard to engage and to connect with”. “2040” acknowledges that the Earth has set off down a hazardous path, but focuses on the work that is being done now to steer the right course. What, the film asks, could make 2040 a time worth living in?…. (subscribers only) https://www.economist.com/prospero/2019/02/19/2040-paints-an-optimistic-picture-of-the-future-of-the-environment